A Touch of Evil is horrible, IMO. If you're only considering the two, definitely go with Arkham. I don't feel it overlaps with Elder Sign too much, though I own Arkham Horror and don't feel the need to ever purchase Elder Sign. Elder Sign is going to have an easier rules overhead than Arkham, but Arkham is the deeper, more fulfilling experience. Just realize that you're going to want to play at least 3 or 4 investigators if you go solo.

I have all 3. Very little overlap, I suggest. Your collection can tolerate all 3 (sorry!)

There is more in common, I think, betweem AH and AToE, then between either of those and ES - save of course in terms of theme.

Both AH/AToE have proper boards and movement around them is, in both cases, a key mechanic - not so with (base) ES. Likewise neither relies to any extent on dice rolling sets - though both are dice-heavy games. But the use of dice is wholly different.

Also: I'd go Eldritch Horror anyway. I think it's fired AH and for a newcomer, it's the obvious go to HPL boardgame. I know there are lots of AH afficionados (I'm one!) but if you haven't played either, EH is the easier game to learn and teach and play. Imo.

If you are willing to invest the time, there aren't any richer solo boardgaming experiences than Arkham Horror. It's been my favorite boardgame for many years and every time I play it I like it even more.

However, there are a lot of edge cases and rules overhead. So, if you are looking to get into something that isn't as complex, or will not take several 3-plus hour games to master, I would go with something else. Just keep in mind that you lose something in a game like this with less overhead to think about. Arkham is a game system with a lot of moving parts, but the experience is incredible.

I thank you guys for your suggestions. I already have thunder stone and Lotr dice game as well as ES. They fill certain game gremlin desires. The reason I was reluctantly about AH is theme and ES overlap. That's why I was looking at Atoe. Similar, lighter and a different theme. Robinson Crusoe through research did not seem to click with me and Aeons End though nice, seemed to overlap thunderstorms deck builder aspect. I meant only to get the base game so expansions were not considered. I had considered my options and AH kept coming in at the top though my overlap worry made me consider Eldritch Horror with a single expansion instead. I know that story and theme are paramount for solo play which is why these choices kept coming up. Any words that unquestionably convince me on this matter are greatly welcome. As for now I'm reading "The book of Cthulu" and also wrote a CYOA gamebook titled "The house of torment" though not published, sorta of a hobby project. All in all, I thank you guys.

Sure thing! I just played a couple solo games of base-game arkham horror this weekend and I can say it has had a lot of staying power for me. Hopefully you can find some great videos that would help you decide if it would be a good buy for you, or maybe you could demo it if you happen to be a convention-goer.

A.H. is distinctly a good solo game. It is my most complex and lengthy solo to date. Setup is my only complaint though and with a box insert I hope to alleviate this. What would you suggest for an expansion that adds more story and theme without breaking solo play.

P.S. if anyone is curious are my lovecraftian game book I am always happy to chat up a storm and share what I got.

A.H. is distinctly a good solo game. It is my most complex and lengthy solo to date. Setup is my only complaint though and with a box insert I hope to alleviate this. What would you suggest for an expansion that adds more story and theme without breaking solo play.

You will find a large variety of opinions on this as to what people really like. One thing you could do is just go in chronological order of release, or pick out what looks most interesting to you. Hopefully people with extensive expansion experience will chime in as well. Keep in mind that Miskatonic Horror isn't meant as an expansion on its own but rather provides more content for other expansions.